Comprehensive Understanding of Ozone Pollution in the Yangtze River Delta, China in 2017

In recent years, ozone (O₃) pollution is attracting much attention in China especially in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) due to extensive emissions from growing urbanization, industrialization and population. O₃ is formed through the photochemical reactions between nitrogen oxides (NO_x) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) with sunlight. High O₃ concentration strongly impacts human and environmental health and accurate assessment and elaborate simulation of O₃ in the YRD are essential for designing effective control strategies. In this work, O₃ is simulated using the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model with anthropogenic emissions from Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research (EDGAR) and biogenic emissions from the Model for Emission of Gas and Nature (MEGAN) model. The model performance will be improved and the formation and transport of O₃ will be analyzed. We will also use source-oriented version of CMAQ to quantify the contributions of major sources to O₃ in YRD in 2017. The impacts of O₃ on human health and ecosystem will also be analyzed. The results would provide useful information for understanding and controlling O₃ pollution in China.